1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module and more particularly to camera with two lenses and one sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In mobile phone camera applications, manufacturers are continuing in pursuing higher and higher resolution solutions. In the same time, camera solutions also develop in a very different way—the 3D camera. Different from high resolution solutions, 3D camera brings a whole new image viewing experience by making users feel the scenes are in three-dimensional in their eyes. The conventional 3D camera module normally requires two camera modules to deliver individual images corresponding to a user's left and right eyes. The design is usually more complex and more expensive.
As mentioned, in a 3D camera system, designers normally need two camera modules. In other words, there are two image sensors in the whole system. Such arrangement creates some potential problems. First, each sensor also has different shading characteristics, which means we need to apply shading calibration. Second, each sensor has more or less performance difference in color even if exposed to the same light source. Thus, WB (white balance) calibration is always necessary. The need in shading and WB calibration makes system design more complicated. Finally, two sensors implies double cost. The whole 3D camera module is thus at least two times more expensive than ordinary camera modules.